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Oregon Independent Party Appears to have Qualified for its own Government Primary

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Richard WingerFebruary 2, 2015

The Oregon January 2015 registration tally shows that the Independent Party has 109,349 registered members. Oregon law says a party with 5% of the statewide registration is entitled to its own government-administered primary. The calculation uses a denominator from the statewide total at the most recent gubernatorial election. The November 2014 statewide registration was 2,174,763, so the Independent Party now has five more voters than 5% of that denominator.

It is not certain that the Independent Party is thereby guaranteed a government primary in 2016, because conceivably it could lose registrations between now and the 2016 cutoff point. But because the party has been steadily growing, it is very likely that, having met the 5%, it will keep it and even increase its percentage. Thanks to Sal Peralta for this news.

The Oregon January 2015 registration tally is not yet on the Secretary of State’s web page.

Lawsuit Filed Against Massachusetts Law that Criminalizes False Speech About Candidates

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Richard WingerFebruary 2, 2015

On December 5, 2014, a Massachusetts PAC filed a federal lawsuit against a 1946 Massachusetts law that says, “No person shall make or publish, or cause to be made or published, any false statement in relation to any candidate for nomination or election to public office, which is designed to or tends to aid or to injure or defeat such candidate.” This law is in Mass. General Laws, chapter 56, section 42, part of the election code.

The case is Jobs First Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee v Coakley, 1:14cv-14338. It has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton. The Massachusetts law is similar to an Ohio law invalidated in September 2014 in U.S. District Court. That case was Susan B. Anthony List v Driehaus.

Mississippi Bill for an Earlier Primary in Presidential Years Makes Headway

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Richard WingerFebruary 2, 2015

On January 29, the Mississippi House Apportionment & Elections Committee passed HB 933. It moves the primary for president and all other office, in presidential years, from the second Tuesday in March, to the first Tuesday in March. For 2016, that would mean a primary date of March 1, the earliest date that any state is permitted to hold a presidential primary (except for New Hampshire and South Carolina). Thanks to Josh Putnam for this news.

Tennessee Republican Party to Decide Whether to Support Legislation for Closed Primaries

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Richard WingerFebruary 2, 2015

The Tennessee Republican State Executive Committee will meet on February 7 to vote on whether the party should work for a closed primary for itself. See this story. Tennessee has always had open primaries and has never had voter registration forms that asked applicants to choose a party affiliation or to choose independent status. The Tennessee legislature has a Republican majority in both houses, and the Governor is a Republican, so if the party decides in favor of closed primaries, it would probably work with the legislature, rather than going to court.

January 2015 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Richard WingerFebruary 1, 2015

Ballot Access News
January 1, 2015 – Volume 30, Number 8

This issue was printed on blue paper.

Table of Contents

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